


Had we never lov’d sae kindly

by Samsonet



Series: Love but you, and you forever [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: M/M, There’s no actual sex that’s just the premise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2021-01-30 18:56:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21433084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samsonet/pseuds/Samsonet
Summary: Sleeping with Leon has to count as a victory, right?It’s definitely not a defeat.
Relationships: Champion Leon/Gym Leader Raihan
Series: Love but you, and you forever [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1558693
Comments: 15
Kudos: 284





	Had we never lov’d sae kindly

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Robert Burns’ “Ae fond Kiss”

The view from the restaurant is amazing. They’re thirty stories up, and the rest of the city — the rest of Galar, even — looks so small, so far away.

Raihan knows what a privilege it is to be here. In this restaurant, on this night, the major league is celebrating. Chairman Rose rented out the whole top floor of the hotel, just for them. There are no reporters. There are no fans. It’s just the gym leaders, the chairman, and the champion.

Raihan gets another drink.

They had had an exhibition match today. Exhibition matches are an endless source of frustration. _Leon_ is an endless source of frustration. Raihan is strong, but Leon is stronger. Raihan trains hard, but Leon trains harder.

Raihan is getting drunk, but Leon is talking happily with Allister.

It’s getting late. Someone should really send Allister home.

Evidently Leon was having the exact same thought, because when Piers comes around, Leon taps him on the shoulder. A short conversation later, and Piers and Allister are saying goodnight and heading out.

Lovely Leon. Always looking out for the people of Galar.

Raihan stands, still holding his glass, and walks over. Leon smiles at him. It’s a friendly smile, a genuine smile, but Raihan can’t give a sincere smile in return.

“How are you tonight, Champion?” he asks, sliding into the chair that Allister left.

Leon rests his chin in his hand. “I’ve been thinking.”

“Wow, that’s a surprise.” There, that’s some friendly rival banter. He’s still got it in him.

Leon doesn’t laugh, but he doesn’t stop smiling, either. “I’ve been thinking about what it means to be a champion. You know, why the world decided to have its strongest trainers represent their regions, rather than, like, having the professors do it. Or some artist or activist or whoever.”

(You could be the champion of another region, Raihan, if you decided to move.)

(Leon is the strongest trainer in Galar. Maybe the strongest in the world.)

(You can never beat him. He knows you too well.)

“The Alola region, they’ve just started up their league,” Leon continues. “Their champion is a little kid. She’s younger than Hop! She’s strong, no doubt, and she’s got that determined look in her eyes, but… She’s so _young,_ she’s got the whole region on her shoulders.”

Raihan doesn’t know what to say to that. So he has more of his drink, then grunts something that sounds vaguely sympathetic.

“I got invited to the Unova champion’s sweet sixteen. I didn’t go, because it would be weird and I’m pretty sure she only invited me ‘cause she invited Diantha and didn’t want to cause drama, but I don’t start drama, you know? Even though the magazines love to act like I do.” Leon blinks as though he’s trying to remember what his point was. He must have had a drink too. Maybe a couple. “Oh, yeah. Iris is really young, too. And Unova is a huge region.”

“So…” Raihan rubs at his temple, attempting to connect the dots. “What, are you worried about what’ll happen if you lose to your kid brother? That won’t happen for a while, Leon. If anyone’s going to take your title, it’ll be — it’ll be me.”

Leon takes off his hat. His hair sticks up in a hundred directions and he still looks dazzlingly beautiful. It is not fair.

“No, I was thinking. Being a champion is a lot of responsibility. You’re strong enough to be the champion of anywhere, but you stay here and keep challenging me instead. Is it because you don’t think you’re capable of the responsibilities? ‘Cause I think you could do it. I know you can.”

Raihan stares.

Does Leon not know how insulting that is? Sure, Raihan could become a champion of another region. Get a plane to Unova, maybe, then speed run the league and beat their teenage dragon-tamer champion in a couple of weeks. But it wouldn’t feel like victory. No matter how tough the league was, it wouldn’t be Galar’s league. And no matter how strong the champion was, they would not be Leon.

Why did he care so much about beating Leon, anyway? The answer might have been easier to answer back before the fifth drink.

Frustration. Yes, definitely a part of it. Every time Raihan loses, and with every defeat selfie he posts, the fire in him burns brighter and aches more.

But it’s also the smile on Leon’s face, the sound of his voice, the way his eyes light up when he’s genuinely impressed. Raihan doesn’t want to be a distant rival, someone who gets so close every time but is only rewarded with polite praise. He wants Leon to _see_ him.

“Why don’t you become champion of another region? Then we could fight as equals.”

(We will never be equal until _I beat you._)

Raihan opens his mouth to speak, but the words don’t come. He has a million things to say. He can’t bring himself to say them.

So instead, he reaches across the table, grabs Leon by the shoulders, and kisses him.

Time stops.

Alcohol is spilling all over the table, and Raihan realizes that this was the absolute worst thing to do. Leon has thousands of fans dying to get a piece of him; this is probably not the first forceful kiss he’s had to experience. And in front of all the other gym leaders, too. Raihan buries his face in his hands.

But Leon says, “I didn’t realize you felt that way.”

Raihan peeks up, scans the room. Milo’s face is bright red. Opal is watching with gleeful interest. Everyone else seems to be pretending they didn’t notice, but they’re all glancing over. 

The glances get more explicit when Leon stands, wipes the alcohol with his sleeve, and says, “It’s getting late. Want to sleep at my place?”

(In the background, Nessa spits out her drink.)

Raihan is tremendously glad that this event is private. Firstly, because there is no doubt what Leon is offering. The smile, the look in his eyes, the way he puts his hand on Raihan’s waist. It is quite possibly the sexiest pose in Galarian history. If the tabloids got a shot of this, it would be everywhere by next morning.

The second reason Raihan’s glad the event is private?

Because he accepts the offer.

*  
Leon’s “place” is the hotel’s champion suite. Enormously expensive, but Chairman Rose has a lot of money.

Raihan’s a bit envious. But his own room, a floor down, is nice, too, so he tells himself to suck it up.

Out of habit, he pulls out his phone, intending to take a selfie among the glittery lamps and another on the silk sheets of the bed. His fingers don’t seem to obey his mind, though, and after entering the wrong passcode for the sixth time, he gives up.

Leon is hanging his hat and cape on hooks by the door.

“It’s nice, huh?”

“It’ll look nicer with your clothes on the floor,” Raihan replies.

Leon laughs.

Maybe this could be a victory, Raihan thinks, throwing his hat on the floor and pulling off his jacket. He didn’t beat Leon today, but he’ll get to sleep with him. That will be good enough for now, right?

A phone rings.

It’s Leon’s. He picks it up immediately, like a Yamper after a ball.

“Chairman Rose,” he says. “Hey. I’m in my suite. Sorry I left the party early, I was… Oh...”

“What does that fucker want?” Raihan groans.

Leon grins at him and shrugs apologetically. On the other end of the phone, Rose’s voice is still rambling. His words are too low to make out from the bed where Raihan is sitting.

Still, he can watch. And it looks like Leon isn’t too happy to hear from the chairman. His smile is gone, replaced by a serious expression.

He turns his back to Raihan and says, voice low, “That’s none of your business.”

Chairman Rose says something else.

Leon’s shoulders slump. “Yeah. Hop will like that. Thank you, Chairman.”

And that, there, is another reason Raihan doesn’t go off to be a champion somewhere else. No matter how strong a trainer is, if they’re in the league they’re at the mercy of the league’s officials. In Galar, that’s Chairman Rose.

Raihan doesn’t trust the guy. He’s like a Jellicent: he looks innocent, bright, and friendly, but get too close and he’ll get his poison in you.

Leon has a kid brother. How often does Chairman Rose offer treats for him in return for Leon performing well? Or, perhaps, veiled threats, if Leon refused to follow orders. Raihan has heard the same rumors as everyone else.

(How many matches have they had, while Leon was rattled like this? How many times has Raihan noted this unbalance and thought, _maybe this is my chance to finally win_? What a pathetic rival he is, to want to take advantage like that.)

Someday, when Raihan wins and becomes champion, Leon will be free.

Until then…

He watches Leon’s back, notes the slump of his shoulders.

When the call finishes, he asks, “Hey. Are we gonna fuck or what?”

This makes Leon jump. He turns around, scratching the back of his head. “Actually… I don’t think we should.”

“What, did the chairman tell you not to?”

Leon doesn’t answer directly, and that’s all the answer Raihan needs. “You’re drunk.”

“So are you.”

“Even worse. Though I think you had more than I did.” Leon goes back to the coat hooks and slings his cape back on his shoulders.

“Seriously, Leon?” There’s a whine in his voice.

“And besides,” Leon says, putting on his cap, “I’m the league champion, and you’re one of my gym leaders. I can’t sleep with you, it would be a — an abuse of power.”

(It _aches._)

Raihan lies on the bed and spreads out his limbs. “Are you gonna tell me to fuck off to another region’s league, then?”

“I’m going to get another room. You can stay here tonight. It’s the least I can do for you.”

“I want you so _bad_, Lee. Don’t leave me.”

Leon whimpers.

Is this a victory, to see Leon the Undefeated in such a moment of weakness? Raihan wants to take it as one. He wants another kiss. He wants Leon’s arms around his neck. He wants so much.

This rivalry is completely one-sided. He knows that. He’s fought harder than any other trainer in the region, and he’s made Leon sweat a few times, but he’s never come close to actually winning. Whenever he’s close to getting what he wants, he is left disappointed by Leon the Unbeatable, Leon the Responsible and Sensible, Leon the Not-As-Drunk-As-You-Right-Now.

Yet Raihan keeps coming back for more, because he wants — he wants —

“If I beat you,” he says, sitting up, “and _I_ become the champion, will we be equals then?”

“...yeah,” Leon says. “Yeah, we will.”

He opens the door and walks out. It closes behind him with a click.

Raihan groans and covers his eyes.

One victory.

One victory, and they’ll be equals.

One victory, next to — how many defeats?

He’s never going to get what he wants.


End file.
